Thank You Portugal, for the Honeymoon of Our Dreams!

Hello, r/portugal

I’m writing this in English because I want to make sure my words come across just right, and I worry Google Translate might not fully capture how I feel. I mean no offense—I simply want to properly share how incredible our experience in your country was!

My wife and I just returned from the most amazing two weeks exploring your beautiful country for our honeymoon, and we have to say, what a cool country! We traveled from America, and while we’ve been lucky enough to visit England, Spain, and Germany, in the past – Portugal is hands-down our favorite.

Porto (3 Days) – https://imgur.com/5XWM9x2
We spent three days in Porto, and one of our most memorable nights was joining an amazing food and drink tour. Our local host took us to five unique spots across the city, where we sampled everything from traditional petiscos to port wine, along with local beers and desserts. It was the perfect way to dive into the flavors of Porto, meet new people, and find some hidden gems we wouldn’t have discovered on our own.

Douro Valley (3 Days) – https://imgur.com/DwwknFt
After Porto, we spent three days in the Douro Valley, staying at one of the winery houses, the peace and quiet was so nice. Each day, we enjoyed wine-tasting against a backdrop of rolling hills, golden light, and stunning views. The Douro Valley felt a lot like home to us (we’re from Colorado) with its beautiful hills and cooler temps, which were a refreshing break from the heat. But can we talk about the fearless “wine ladies” speeding around the curvy mountain roads in their G-Wagons? They are crazy!

Évora (2 Days) – https://imgur.com/K8Tlc1i
Next, we headed to Évora for two days. The history and sights (like the Roman Temple and Chapel of Bones) were incredible, Évora felt a bit too touristy for us – which is too be expected. Our stay at Noble House, while cool for being within the city walls, wasn’t quite what we’d hoped. But the food here? Unreal! Huge shoutout to Três Marmelos for serving the best meal of our entire trip.

Algarve (3 Days) – https://imgur.com/UjrSkg2
For our three-day 'rest stop', we headed to Algarves, staying at the Tivoli Carvoeiro. While it was a little more touristy than we prefer, it was the perfect place to relax in the middle of our trip. The coastline, hidden beaches, and boat tour to Benagil Cave were all beautiful. To get the true local flavor, we made sure to venture beyond the resort and try some small, mom-and-pop places—such a rewarding experience! It’s definitely on the pricier side, but we knew that going in and were happy with our choice.

Lisbon (3 Days) – https://imgur.com/BiRqDiG
Finally, we wrapped up our adventure with three days in Lisbon. The city was surprisingly busy, but the rich history made up for it. Wandering through Alfama, exploring Bairro Alto, and hearing Fado music live were some of our favorite moments. Lisbon’s charm and hilly streets gave us quite a workout—I’m still tired from all those hills!

Language, Driving, and Surprises – We came to Portugal knowing almost nothing about the country, but by the end of our trip, we felt like we had a pretty good idea of what makes it so special. Renting a car made traveling between cities easy, and the highways were scenic and verywell built (better than America). As travelers with only English and a bit of Spanish, we were happy people worked with us to communicate! People everywhere were so friendly, and we were also very surprised by how many Brazilians we met that were living in Portugal.

A huge obrigado to every single person who made us feel like family. You all truly made this the honeymoon of a lifetime, and we’re already planning our next visit.

PS – I did search the reddit for all the travel posts to come up with this trip without posting a dumb thread here once 🙂